Tag Archives: Bank of Cyprus

Cyprus Banker Sex Scandal Casts Shadow on Crises

Michalis Sarris, Former Finance Minister and Chairman of Laiki Bank at Center of Controversy

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Did His Arrest in Turkish-Occupied Cyprus For Sex Crimes With a 17 Year Old Boy Play Any Part in the Banking Crises?

Michalis Sarris was a big man in the banking world.  He was a former governor of the Central Bank, Cypriot Finance Minister from 2005 to 2008, and Chairman of the Laiki Bank, the bank that is now being torn apart by the EU.  He was a graduate of the London School of Economics and held a position at the World Bank.

Michalis Sarris being arrested in 2011.
Michalis Sarris being arrested in 2011.

The strange ordeal of Mr. Sarris begins on October 14, 2011, when he was arrested, along with one of his employees, at a house in Nicosea, Turkish Occupied Cyprus.  Sarris, then 65, was found naked and accused of having unnatural sexual relations with a minor, a 17 year old Turkish settler.  The claims of Mr. Sarris, who said he was getting a 20 euro “massage” didn’t fly with the Turkish police, who arrested all three, Sarris, his employee, and the minor.  After a short stint in jail, Sarris posted a huge 50,000 euro bond and returned to the Greek part of Cyprus.  He later skipped showing up for his trial at a Turkish court and forfeited the bond. One wag said that the 2011 massage cost Sarris 50,020 euros, the most expensive massage in the history of Cyprus.

Shortly after his arrest, he was appointed Chairman of the Laiki Bank, and it was in this position that he negotiated with the Troika of Doom, The EU, The International Monetary Fund, and the European Central Bank.  This is the power trio that forced Cypriot President Nikos Anastasaides to sign an agreement that surrendered the depositors’ funds to the EU.  The Cypriot Parliament did not vote on this, and some legal experts question the legality of the agreement that put possibly millions of depoitors at risk.  With the forced collapse of the Laiki Bank, Sarris was appointed by President Anastasaides to be Finance Minister of Cyprus once again in February 2013.

Mr. Sarris did not remain long as Finance Minister.  He Resigned on April 2,

Michalis Sarris face shows stress
Michalis Sarris face shows stress

2013.  After his resignation, he decided to “set the record straight” about his negotiations with the Troika.  Sarris claims that the deal he made was for the depositors to only take a 21/2% “haircut” on interest, and further, in order to avoid a run on the banks, that if any deposits dropped down to 70%, than a tax of 2 1/2 percent would be put on interest received on the account, not the principal.  This 2 1/2% on interest is a long way from the 77.5% the Troika is now seizing from the accounts of customers of Laiki Bank and The Bank of Cyprus who have over 100,000 euros on deposit.  This recent information on the secret negotiations brings to mind several questions.  Did the Troika “double-cross” Mr. Sarris, leading him to believe that the so-called “haircut” would only be on interest, then slamming a different deal by surprise on President Anastasiades?  Or did Mr. Sarris know all along about the huge bite that was going to be taken out of his bank’s customers?  Did Mr. Sarris throw his own customers to the wolves of the Troika?  Did the Troika, or any of their operatives, have even more secret information about Mr. Sarris’ homosexual life-style and threaten to reveal it and ruin him if he didn’t “play ball”? It would not be the first time in history that sexual blackmail had taken place. Or is Mr. Sarris telling the truth, revealing the Troika to have negotiated in bad faith, with a hidden agenda, and were planning to blindside Mr. Sarris all along?  These and other questions should be investigated by the Cypriot government if they want to get to the bottom of this morass.

 

E.U. Bankers Rob Depositors of up to Astounding 40%

Massive Demonstrations Rock Cyprus – E.U. Banksters Steal Billions From Depositor’s Accounts – Parliament Shut Out of Process

Massive Protests Rock CyprusThe “Troika of Doom”, the European Central Bank, the European Union, and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Sign A Deal With the President of Cyprus Nicos Anastasiades.

The bullies of the so-called “Troika” have signed a piece of paper that they are calling an “agreement” with the new rightist President of Cyprus, Nicos Anastasiades that reorganizes the banking system of Cyprus.  The Cypriot Parliament was totally shut out of the process – the voice of the peoples’ representatives silenced and ignored in one of the most heavy-handed operations yet mounted by the European banks and Bilderberg ruling class.

And in one of the most cynical statements made yet this year, Daniel Gros, from the Centre for European Policy Studies, in an interview with Euronews, said that “It was necessary to have some theatre”, letting the Cypriot Parliament to say “no” to the first bailout offer.  Then a second deal was signed by the President with the “Troika”, with no vote from the Parliament at all.  This is a cynical admission that the entire process is being stage-managed by the euro banksters.

Troika Buys Nations

Good Bank vs Bad Bank

The deal as forced on Cyprus is the most onerous that can be imagined for the middle class, the poor, and small business, as well as some of the wealthy and foreign investors.  The “Troika” has seized the Second largest bank in Cyprus, the popular Laiki Bank, and divided it into 2 parts, a “good bank” where all deposits under euro 100,000 were transferred and will be given to the remaining Bank of Cyprus, and a “bad bank” which will carry all the debt and derivitives, plus all the accounts that have over euro 100,000.  The depositors who have money in the “bad bank” will be subject to a loss of their funds of up to 40% of their accounts. ECB appointed Bank Gov. Panicos Demetriades, who is also on  the ECB board, said that the funds transferred to the “bad bank” will be used to pay off bad debt.  In addition, the bond-holders of the Laiki Bank will likely suffer a 100% loss and the bond-holders of the Bank of Cyprus will also take a heavy loss.

Bank of Cyprus Gov Panicos Demetriades is an ECB Board Member
Bank of Cyprus Gov Panicos Demetriades is an ECB Board Member

Food Markets Slump 50%

The fresh fruit and vegetable markets have dropped 50% in sales.  A Euronews video reported that the poor people have been hit hard, now only affording to buy potatoes, just the basics.  The banks were completely shut down on March 16th, throwing the population into chaos, with no money to buy anything.  On Sunday, March 24th, currency controls allowed a withdrawal of only 100 euros per day.  Not only have mass demonstrations rocked the island, but the employees of the now closed Laiki Bank tried to storm the bank.  Police kept the employees out by using force.  These employees will now be out of work permanently.

In a recent interview, Eurogroup Chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem, said that Cyprus is being used as a “model” for future operations of the ECB that might be put on to other countries, probably referring to the problems of the “P.I.G.” nations. This admission caused an uproar in the E.U. as the ruling elites were upset that the Eurogroup Chief had let the cat out of the bag, so to speak.

With the collapse of the financial system, Cyprus now faces a rolling crises, poverty, unemployment, business failure, and a total dissolution of trust in the banking system.  Now the entire world knows that their deposits in any bank can evaporate in an instant.  Likewise the investors in the banks themselves, the shareholders and bondholders can easily be hung out to dry by the big Central Banks.  Meanwhile, the Wall Street derivatives peddlers who caused all this get off scot free.

Better to die on your feet